RolyartNala Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) Dear SWTOR devs, Hi, I am back. I followed the game religiously in development, played like a fiend for four months at release, and then more or less stopped playing for Reasons™ until my friend asked me to join him recently. After three and a half years, I had hoped for some significant improvements to the game and was looking forward to seeing the new stuff. I did not see the improvements I was hoping for. In fact, the parts of the game I wanted to play had largely not changed in my time away, despite the addition of new content. This post, then, is a wish list for the devs. Here is stuff I would love to see in SWTOR. Some of this stuff I wished for at release, and some is newer. More Playable Species You added cat-people (bleh), and I hear you're adding Togruta soon (yay). Cool. They should have been playable at release. While you're at it, please add Kel'Dor and Nautolans as playable species, since they're already in the game. Then add some more Star Wars species that aren't---Cereans, in particular, would be a classy get. More New Character Art Beyond a few cartel market cosmetic items, there are far fewer new looks in the game than I expected there to be after 3.5 years. The environment art in this game is gorgeous. Please add more items for customizing our look. And, you know, make them look cool. A lot of the existing equipment in this game does not look cool, or great (though I grant you that it all looks Star Wars-adjacent). While you're at it, how about more new hairstyles and facial art (tattoos, piercings, implants)? Fewer (and Faster) Load Screens First, I understand that the speed issue goes away with an SSD. But many of us don't have those. More important to me is that the game still contains an enormous amount of empty transitional hallways. They weren't fun at launch and they aren't fun now. You know what I'm talking about. If you want to go from, say, Carrick Station to the cantina on Hoth, you zone from Carrick > Docking Bay > Ship > Hoth Space Station Docking Bay > Hoth Space Station > Hoth base. It was ridiculous in 2011, and it's still ridiculous today. Way too many load screens & way too much empty hallway running. I know there's less of this in the newer content. Please do a pass on the older content, as well. Some of us like our alts. Faster Speeders This is a simple request. For a far-flung galactic civilization, the transportation sure is pokey. Could you possibly double the speed of speeders? I know you guys set the speed based upon the size of the planets and how quickly you want players to traverse them, but the only speeders in the game that actually fly at speeder-y speeds are the taxis. For me, this is less about getting places faster and more about feeling immersed in Star Wars. Speeders should feel blazingly fast. (SEE: Return of the Jedi.) Speeder/Gear Clipping Issues While I'm on the subject of speeders, I was dismayed to see that the clipping issue with speeders & equipment art--specifically, cloaks, dusters, and other chest items--has not been fixed in three and a half years. I bought a few of the cheaper cartel speeders last night, mounted up on my trusty Jedi and was truly bummed to see the cloak dangle right through 2-3 of the speeders, just like on launch day. Isn't it time to fix this issue? YOU'RE RUINING MY IMMERSION. (Just joking. But seriously, please fix this, it's annoying.) Ability Lag This one is harder to define, as I'm not a tech guy. But basically, there is often a visual lag on the screen between when I press the button, when the action happens, and when the action's animation fires. They aren't always in sync; hell, they don't always happen in the proper order, either. This happens often enough for a guy like me to notice. I've noticed since day one, and the thing still exists. Is it server lag? Video lag from my graphics card? No clue. But I wish animations and actions happened fluidly and consistently, in the order they are supposed to. Especially that crazy death animation, which is almost always ...dramatic pause... out of sync. Static Worlds This is the biggie. The environments in SWTOR, though gorgeous, are largely lifeless. I feel like this is probably for two reasons: one, the game was designed as a standard themepark MMO with rules that are meant to be understandable---mobs come in groups of this, that, or the other, and generally behave in this way or that way. Two, each "world" is really just snapshot of that world, frozen in time, stuck in the precise moment (and level) that the content is meant to be experienced. If you go back to Tatooine at level 60, you are essentially traveling back in time to the Tatooine of your past (specifically, levels 24-27) and not to a Tatooine that is relevant to your current interests. I understand that this is an artifact of both the linear narrative of the game's class stories and the linear leveling process of a themepark MMO. I get it. Here's the thing, though. I want to go back to Tatooine. I want a reason to return to Hoth that will engage me at max level. I want to see Taris again, and not simply for nostalgia's sake. I want to adventure there again, and without making a new character each time. One solution: adjust a character's level to the max level of the appropriate range of the planet when he enters that planet. Pair that with lucrative dailies (hell, the group 4/group 2 quests already there would work) and let players continue to experience their fav places ad infinitum, Guild Wars 2-style. Another solution: Add new, higher level content on these iconic worlds. I'm just saying. Send me back to Tatooine for something other than the occasional rakghoul infestation. ~~~~~~ Those are my main requests of the devs. While you're at it, guys, throw in streamlined stats, a new meeting place other than Carrick Station that doesn't have so much lag, and some new BGs. An underwater Manaan BG would be nice. Oh, and by the way. I'm having fun with Shadows of Revan. Makeb was ca-ca, but Revan is pretty good so far. Looking forward to the next thing. Peace, A more-or-less satisfied customer Edited July 7, 2015 by RolyartNala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djiini Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I stopped at 'they should have been there on release'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RolyartNala Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 I stopped at 'they should have been there on release'. Thanks for the input! I will file it in the appropriate receptacle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djiini Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thanks for the input! I will file it in the appropriate receptacle. Well, at least you were creative about your response instead of just calling me a troll or something. I approve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDutchman Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 "letter to dev" threads always amuse me. Most of what you want and is not there can be summed up as performance reasons or dev cost reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adormitul Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 They had a budget of hundreds of millions they got hundreds of millions in profit if not a billion what cost? We forget that this game had profit and will have even more and I found out that the witcher 3 made a game with a great cinematic experience with way less money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icestar Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) SWTOR is a good game and it will get better in the expansion, I am sure of it. Edited July 7, 2015 by Icestar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Dear SWTOR devs, Hi, I am back. More Playable Species More New Character Art Fewer (and Faster) Load Screens Faster Speeders Speeder/Gear Clipping Issues Ability Lag Static Worlds 1) More playable species is a waste of time and resources. That investment adds nothing to the game for those of us who didn't quit. 2) I'm fine with the character art we have...I see this as another waste of $ and time. 3) They've tried with Legacy travel skills to cut down on loading screens...without a complete revamp of the game itself, I don't think there's a chance they could do much more than they have. 4) Faster Speeders would be nice. 5) Gear clipping is aesthetic...it bugs me too, but I've learned to live with it...there's no ROI with this one... 6) Ability lag is phenomenally better than it was...nowadays it seems it may have more to do with your connection than it does the game code. 7) Static worlds suck, I agree with you...but it's too late to change it. That should have been thought about 8 years ago while the game was being developed. At this point, it really doesn't matter one bit to me. I don't mind your list, it's just that this Dev team moves so freaking slow as it is, that the thought of them taking time for frivolous things like you want, makes my stomach churn. This game needs PvP maps and new Ops far more than anything on your list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelarion Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I left for 2.5 years..came back in February...and still have not discovered all the new cool stuff..... If you have truly been gone that long..and cannot see how much better this game is now compared to then...then..well....there's no way you can be helped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icestar Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I left for 2.5 years..came back in February...and still have not discovered all the new cool stuff..... Welcome back. I had a friend re-join the game after a long time and he is still exploring new stuff even after a few weeks playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelarion Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Welcome back. I had a friend re-join the game after a long time and he is still exploring new stuff even after a few weeks playing. Yeah...played since launch...got sick..poor pitiful me...yada yada... Yes..the game is so so so much better than when I left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FerkWork Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 1) More playable species is a waste of time and resources. That investment adds nothing to the game for those of us who didn't quit. 2) I'm fine with the character art we have...I see this as another waste of $ and time. 3) They've tried with Legacy travel skills to cut down on loading screens...without a complete revamp of the game itself, I don't think there's a chance they could do much more than they have. 4) Faster Speeders would be nice. 5) Gear clipping is aesthetic...it bugs me too, but I've learned to live with it...there's no ROI with this one... 6) Ability lag is phenomenally better than it was...nowadays it seems it may have more to do with your connection than it does the game code. 7) Static worlds suck, I agree with you...but it's too late to change it. That should have been thought about 8 years ago while the game was being developed. At this point, it really doesn't matter one bit to me. I don't mind your list, it's just that this Dev team moves so freaking slow as it is, that the thought of them taking time for frivolous things like you want, makes my stomach churn. This game needs PvP maps and new Ops far more than anything on your list. I agree more Ops and PVP maps (and gametypes) would go a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightblazer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 If you think about it, if they added everything that "should" have been there since release, the game wouldn't have been released. They spent so many years and money on development. Atbsome point you got to stop and just release what you got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthgamer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Yeah...played since launch...got sick..poor pitiful me...yada yada... Yes..the game is so so so much better than when I left Don't worry you'll hit the wall soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahRedden Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 . They should have been playable at release. Eye roll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalacticStarfigh Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) Dear SWTOR devs, Static Worlds I was all " heh, this guy is easy to please!" til arriving to the last note! : p Yeah,as you said this is a biggie . Sadly, also a futile wish to make. Art of zone crafting is something extremely difficult, and I feel Bioware has never been exceptionally good in any of that, even in their single player games. Bioware RPGs where I've found the world to be very interesting have always managed to be interesting mainly through written lore or writing in general. (DA:O, ME 1) In both of those, every single world- related " omg. this is so cool" moment I ever had required codex entries, dialogue, lore to come alive. Like true talking head artisans that they are, BW has always been all about telling, not showing. Latest few WoW expansions Vs anything in TOR feel like completely different Galaxy. Which is bigger a shame than it sounds like! There is absolutely no sense of adventure, life or exploration anywhere in TOR. TOR zones feel like creations by MMO Zone Creating Engineer who, from 8.00 to 16.00, 5 days/week, provides default option, default scenery and default pile of mid 00s mobs to all the default locations. There is no impression, utterly false or otherwise, of joy-in-creation. In general most of MMO bits in TOR are in disrepair. This amounts to nice, self fulfilling prophecy from POV of Bioware: " Our story elements are so strong that - everybody- wants more of that!!!" Uhh yeah, when almost everything else is somewhere betweenn "average" and " why is it I play this game?" , then folks who are literally unable to stop loving every single second a head spends talking is all you have left. Not sure it makes a huge compliment to the story though. Casual Warzones. GSF. These are the things SW:TOR does better than any other MMO of WoW generation. These are the reasons I'm here. And these are the two features Bioware doesn't care about, at all. If I wanted hard core raiding,pro-level pvp, sense of adventure, strong narrative, exploration or large scale world pvp I'd just get the frak out and switch to WoW (exploration, world that feels alive, life, fun times, arena pvp!), GW2 (large scale pvp) , Wildstar(hard core raiding) or The Secret World (awesome writing&narrative). But noooo, I have to like casual WZs and, specially, GSF. I'd love to be able to feel a single senior dev gives a single F about features I enjoy. They don't. Remember that 4 min daddy issue cgi? Without a hint of trolling, I'm willing to argue it cost BW 10 times more than they've invested in GSF or WZs. Edited July 7, 2015 by GalacticStarfigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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